Pickering Town's five-match winning run came to an end at Armthorpe Welfare, who thrashed them 4-0 to move up to second in the NCEL Premier Division.

Henry Sibenge and Liam Hardy scored in the first half, with Hardy and Bruno Holden adding two more near the end.

Pikes manager Mark Wood bemoaned a disallowed second-half header which would have made it 2-1 at the time.

"The linesman said it was offside but there were four players behind the lad who headed it," he told BBC Radio York.

Wood was sent from the dugout for protesting, and referee Ricky Wootton later cautioned one of the Pikes substitutes while he was warming up as the game became feisty.

A top five finish is certainly not out of our reach Mark Wood

"We didn't play particularly well in the first half, but I felt in the second half we were the better team," Wood added.

"We showed a lot of character and fight in the second half, and at two-one (had their goal stood) I felt we could have got something out of the game.

"Four-nil certainly wasn't a fair reflection. They scored a couple of late goals when we pushed on and changed our shape.

"We need a positive reaction and we need to go and get three points on Saturday (at home to Dinnington), and the way we've been playing, there's no reason why we can't do that.

"Our form's been good and recent results have been very good. We'll bounce back, we'll be fine.

"A top five finish is certainly not out of our reach, and we need to progress as far as we can in the FA Vase."

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